Monday, 4 March 2013

OF STONE AND WIND

Aldo
Tagliapietra is the historic vocalist and bassist of Le Orme, a band
that he contributed to found in 1966. In 2009 he went solo and, after
a double unplugged live album, in 2012 he self released an
interesting studio work with the help of some members of The Former
Life, a very promising young prog band from Vittorio Veneto. On this
album, titled “Nella pietra e nel vento” (In the stone and in the
wind), the line up features, along with Aldo Tagliapietra (vocals,
bass), Aligi Pasqualetto (piano, Minimoog, keyboards), Andrea De
Nardi (electric and acoustic guitar), Matteo Ballarin (organ,
keyboards) and Manuel Smaniotto (drums, percussion). There are no
long, complex suites here but just ten beautiful ballads with a mild
progressive rock vein that in some way recall the atmospheres and the
melodic passages of some albums by Le Orme such as “Elementi” or
“L'infinito” whilethe art work by Paul Whithead adds a touch of charm and mystery

Aldo Tagliapietra 2011

The
opener title track is a melancholic piece about time passing by. It
was inspired by some words in Latin carved in an ancient sundial,
Felicibus brevis miseris hora longa. Time can cover with a
magic veil memories and nostalgia even if it is too slow for those
who have to wait, too fast for those who are scared, too long for
those who feel pain, too short for those who are happy.The
following “Silenzi” (Silences) brings a gust of optimism and the
atmosphere is brighter. What will remain of us after our time will
come to an end? Nothing can last forever except our souls and a smile
which will shine in the silence of immensity.

“Il
santo” (The saint) was inspired by the character of the Dalai Lama.
It tells about a meeting with a smiling man born from a dream, with
no home nor land but with a border-less love in his eyes.The
delicate, sweet “La cosa più bella” (The most beautiful thing)
is dedicated to Aldo Tagliapietra's grand-son Francesco Ian while the
following “Un grande giardino” (A wide garden) is for all the
children of an ancient mother called Life, flowers of light in a wide
garden who need all our love to grow up.

“Sette
passi” (Seven steps) is full of spirituality and was inspired by
the character of Siddhartha. It evokes the morning wind and a
peaceful, almost magic sense of freedom where flowers shine in the
infinite.“C'è
una vita” (There's a life) invites you to open your mind, look
beyond appearances and search for the life that flows inside your
heart... “There's no light without dark / There's no night without
day / There's no sound without quiet / There's no peace without war /
Inside every pain there's a hidden love / In every morning there's
the evening...”.

“Tra
il bene e il male” (Between good and evil) features on bass the
guest Claudio Galieti who was a member of Le Orme in the sixties.
It's another track that draws some reflections about the meaning of
life in a world divided between silence and noise. We have to walk on
a tightrope hanging on the void, between joy and pain in the never
ending game between good and evil.

“Dio
lo sa” (God knows it) is full of positive energy, almost an ode to
a merciful God who is aware of our weakness. For Him we're just
angels living between dream and reality who keep on rolling down from
a steep hill like stones, lost in the dark and looking for an
ephemeral freedom that we can't find.

The
conclusive “Il sutra del cuore” (The sutra of the heart) in some
way is linked with the title track and closes the circle. It invites
you to open your mind to love without hypocrisy nor fear. You have to
forget the evil ways and look for love without any compromise, you
have to carve in the stone all the positive things and remember all
the love you have received from the others. As for the bad memories,
let the wind blow them away and keep on searching for the light of
love, beyond the immensity.